The Multi-award-winning Kenyan entertainer and performer Rajville has released his debut studio EP dubbed ‘Mekatilili’ which is as sensational, timeless, and an impressive project just as the name suggests.
The EP is about a young beautiful African woman whom he collectively described as Mekatilili and celebrates the coastal Giriama female freedom fighter, Mekatilili wa Menza.
Mekatilili Wa Menza
Mnyazi wa Menza, also known as ‘Mekatilili Wa Menza or Makatilili (1860s-1924) was a Kenyan independence activist who led the Giriama people against the colonial administration of Kenya between 1912 and 1915.
Mekatilili was born in the 1860s at Mutsara wa Tsatsu in Bamba, Kilifi county. She was the only daughter in a family of five children. One of her brothers, Mwarandu, was kidnapped by Arab slave traders and was never seen again. At some point in her life, Menza became married to Dyeka at Lango Baya.
Menza’s motivation for resistance was led by economic and social-cultural concerns.
Menza wanted to prevent any Giriama laborers from being employed by the colonial authorities, in order to ensure that they would remain in Giriama territory and only contribute to the well-being of the Giriama people. She also was concerned about the increasing Western influence in Kenya, which she saw as eroding the Giriaman culture.
Mekatilili was agitated by what she saw as the erosion of traditional Giriama culture. The Giriama are a patrilineal community and women rarely hold leadership positions.
However, Mekatilili was a widow. In the Giriama society, women enjoy certain privileges, including speaking before the elders.
She rounded up support for her cause against the colonial authorities due to the position she had attained as a strong believer in the traditional religion. In this, she was aided by the traditional medicine man Wanje wa Mwadori Kola.
She gained a large audience through her performance of the kifudu dance. The dance was reserved for funeral ceremonies but Mekatilili performed it constantly from town to town, attracting a large following that followed her wherever she went.
Mekatilili the EP
Rajville says that this highly anticipated Extended Play is a studio project that can resonate with almost anybody in Africa.
It has a little bit of Rhumba, Afrobeat, drill, hip hop even dancehall all wrapped in a beautiful ribbon called Mekatilili.
Speaking about the EP Rajville said, “It’s a wonderful EP that includes all genres across the continent from Rhumba trap, to Afrobeat, dancehall afro drill, and hip hop. It also speaks to me. It’s a message to all girls where am encouraging all the young females to be true to themselves.”
The 7-track EP, reminiscent of sounds inspired across the continent also features a previously released feel-good hit single about South African songstress ‘Kamo Mphela’.
Other songs that feature in the studio EP; ‘Superstar’, London Chic’, ‘Let you go’, ‘Dedi’, ‘Thinking bout you’, and ‘Mpesa’.
Stream the complete ‘Mekatilili’ studio EP below on your favorite DSPs,
